Wii U it was a console that has been able to make the public discuss since its first announcement, this despite having turned out to be one of the biggest commercial flops for Nintendo. Inside the console, however, several products were available that we can define among the best video games of the last decade and, to allow more users to try them, the Japanese house is slowly bringing some of the most popular works of Wii U right on the Switch. One such revival operation is Pikmin 3 Deluxe, title coming to the hybrid console on October 30, 2020 seven years after its original release. One product from one priceless quality finally returns for the new generations of gamers, and for this we are going to carefully analyze the goodness of this conversion.
An adventure that does not feel the weight of the years
Headquarter preview we generally discussed how the gameplay has practically not aged of a comma. The game structure of Pikmin 3 Deluxe results current and fun still today, showing how the level design and the concept of the game are of an enviable quality even in 2020. Unfortunately not everything is now that glitters, for this we must highlight a main problem in the control system. In fact, this is decidedly less varied than the original release due to some unexplained shortcomings. In fact, here the only option is to be able to play through traditional controls, thus forgetting the appreciated commands of the motion control and touch screen ones. As you may remember, one of the most popular features of the franchise is the control system designed for the WiiMote + Nunchuck pairing. Despite it was can be played with the use of Joy-Con, this was not done, without any valid reason. The same goes for the touch screen, given that the original game is playable entirely in this way, and given the work done for Super Mario 3D All-Stars, it seemed strange not to be able to find this feature even in this re-edition.
Overcoming this problem, the gameplay remains as we remember it albeit with a simplified Lock On system. We then find ourselves exploring a mysterious planet apparently inhabited only by Pikmin and strange carnivorous creatures, in which our task is collect as much fruit as possible by the end of the day or the set time. The main story mode, in fact, has remained completely unchanged both in the structure and in its narrative, if not for the addition of to be able to play it in multiplayer up to two players and with ben three difficulty levels. The latter are cataloged in normal, hard and ultra hot, thus making the game highly replayable for those who love to try their hand at increasingly tough challenges. It should be noted that, if you have completed the demo released about three weeks ago on the Nintendo eShop, you can immediately access the higher difficulty mode. As for the co-op, this was a feature widely requested by the public since 2013. In the original product, the story mode was primarily intended as a single player experience and, to tell the truth, you can see it extensively by playing the main adventure in two. By this we don't mean that the implementation is a bad addition, on the contrary, it is definitely fun to explore this tiny game world in company with the simple narration present here. Unfortunately there is a decisive imbalance of the map itself, which greatly facilitates the gaming experience. To tell the truth, theincreased simplicity is a real cornerstone for this re-release: Pikmin 3 has never been a difficult game, but it could be challenging in the player's task of trying to understand the best strategy to survive the hostile planet. For the more casual players, however, a help system, in the story mode, which not only indicates the path to reach the mission destination but also how to overcome certain points and which techniques to adopt. An addition that is certainly secondary and that does not cancel the possibility of living the experience as originally intended, but one that could have been easily avoided.
Pikmin have never been so detailed
An addition that certainly adds value to the experience is the Pikopedia. This small encyclopedia allows us to read descriptions about animals, fruits, environments and much more about what is present in this wonderful game world. Thanks to these little messages for every single element of the game, even described differently by five playable characters, let's find out more about the lore of one of the most fascinating universes created by Shigeru Miyamoto. Also, another important addition are the trophies, or the prizes that are given to us if we complete certain objectives throughout the game. Finally, we confirm that basically the main story does not present any unpublished levels or cutscenes, recounting Koppai's mission of salvation in the same way as seven years ago. Consequently, the collectibles have remained the same, as well as the number of fruits that can be collected during this little big adventure.
In this edition, we can note slight technical improvements. Unlike other publications of the genre that Nintendo has offered in recent years, Pikmin 3 Deluxe even has a small but significant graphical increase: in addition to supporting 720p on TV and 576p in portable mode, the game actually turns out Cleaner compared to the Wii U edition. The colors are even brighter than the original, and the models look slightly better to look at. Although it is absolutely not an operation to be defined as "remastered", it is nice to note that Nintendo has decided to take advantage of the console hardware a little, thus offering decidedly more accurate porting than the previous ones. In Pikmin 3 Deluxe's purely artistic side remains glorious even today, still managing to amaze for the particular care that has been put into this aspect of production; for the sound we have nothing to say: the music remains nice to listen to and suitable for every single situation. Finally, we must also indicate how there are no bugs or glitches whatsoever, thus demonstrating a great polish by the development team.
The Hocotatians return to exploration
In addition to the story mode we have talked about so far, we must certainly not forget the secondary modes present in the package. We have the ones that all fans know by now, namely the bingo and missions: bingo is probably the weakest modality of the whole experience, this is because it turns out fun but more repetitive. More precisely, bingo can be played exclusively in two players and the goal is to defeat the other player by bringing certain objects to his onion (ie the Pikmin houses) to complete the line and play Bingo. This mode is therefore fun, but unfortunately inferior to the co-op present in the rest of the product. In missions, however, we find ourselves having to choose between three sub variants: collect fruit, defeat enemies or boss battles. This is a mode full of things to do, since it includes all DLCs previously released for the Wii U version. So we're going to explore the main adventure areas, or some of them completely different, through a ingenious level design that makes the most of the possibilities offered by multiplayer. As for the boss battles, we find ourselves clashing with the exact same opponents as in the story mode but with a time limit. Played in two the missions become a decidedly fun experience, in which you have to optimize the times well to reach the desired platinum medal. In fact, by completing the missions you are rewarded through specific medals, which show our skill in completing the aforementioned objectives. Obviously, the online rankings, to compare the times obtained with those of players from all over the world.
However, the highlight of Pikmin 3 Deluxe remains is there Extra story, completely new mode in which we play two mini stories starring Olimar and Louie. These can be played after reaching certain points in the main story, and they appear as gods missions with a narrative context around it. In fact, just like in the mission mode, here we have specific objectives to complete within certain time limits. The idea is interesting, and played in two is absolutely fun. Unfortunately the level design it does not reach the same qualitative level of the rest of the production. However, there are some missing ideas instead in the other parts of Pikmin 3 Deluxe, such as having to escort an object from point A to B on the map. In the end, however, it all turns out too simple and particularly short, leaving a smile on the lips but nothing more.
